Hip flexor pain

If you are the type of person who loves sports or may be a bicycling aficionado, probably you have experienced muscle strain on the hip area which will result to pain and agony on the group of flexor muscles of the hips. This can also lead to loss of motion at the hip area. Before discussing about the pain itself, let us talk about the flexor muscles of the hip.

Flexor Muscles at the Hip – These are a group of muscles which aid in the forward movement of the hip when running or walking. During jumping, kicking and sprinting, these muscles are subjected to a lot of stress. Running happens to be closely associated with pain of these muscles. The hip flexors are composed of three muscles namely psoas major, illiacus and rectus femoris. All of these muscles work together and will provide stability to the body’s lower extremity.

Causes of Flexor Pain – More often than not, the cause of flexor pain is due to overuse of hip flexor muscles. Another cause is acute trauma. A lot of times, when cycling, kicking a ball, sprinting and doing other things, there may be cases when an individual will experience a pull in the flexor muscles of the hip. This is believed to be the source of the pain of the muscles in the hip region. A sedentary lifestyle can make the flexor muscles tight and the person can have poor flexibility which will contribute to the injury. When muscles are tight, the amount of tension on the tissues is increased. In many instances, increase in tension together with an unstable movement can result to an injury.

There is also a possibility that injury to the hip flexors can be caused by weakness of other muscles. Usually, this is true particularly in the case of core muscle weakness. When core muscles or muscles located in the lower part of the abdomen will become weak and will not be capable of stabilizing the pelvis, flexor muscles in the hip which take the pressure become overworked as they try to compensate for the weakness of the core muscles.

Symptoms of Hip Flexor Strain – Pain is the most common and first observable symptom when the flexors are strained. This pain takes place on the front region of the hip and can also radiate downwards to the front part of the thigh. The pain will exacerbate if the individual attempts to lift the knee to his chest. In numerous times, jumping, walking and running can also become extremely painful. Thus, involvement in sports activities will only be limited. Some individuals can have swelling yet, this is not a commonly observed symptom.